Bluewater Michigan Chapter NRHS

The Bluewater Michigan Chapter of the National Railroad Historical Society,[1] colloquially called Bluewater, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which offers events/trips involving historical railroads.

History

Early years

Bluewater Michigan Chapter was originally intended to exist in the Port Huron, Michigan area and thus named "Bluewater." Shortly after, however, it leased the former SEMTA Commuter Rail maintenance facility in Pontiac, Michigan, adjacent to the large Grand Trunk Western yards.

Bluewater focused on railway excursions around and beyond the state of Michigan, usually hauled by the host railroad's locomotives. They also loaned their coach fleet out to other excursion operators. An example of a Bluewater excursion would be from Detroit to Fort Wayne, Indiana on July 28 and 29, 1984, where the Norfolk and Western 611 steam locomotive hauled 24 cars including Bluewater coaches.[2][3]

Many Bluewater members stored and maintained their privately owned coaches at Bluewater's yard locations. This proved to be a symbiotic relationship, as Bluewater was able to use these coaches in their excursions, allowing passenger trains longer than 20 cars.

In Owosso, Michigan, Project 1225 had restored the steam locomotive Pere Marquette 1225 and allied with Bluewater to run excursion trains in 1989.[4]

Saginaw relocation

Bluewater lost the lease to the SEMTA rail facility, and a search for a new location led them to the former Pere Marquette roundhouse/locomotive shops in Saginaw, Michigan which they lease from the Lake State Railway. However, the lease was cancelled in 2009 and the Bluewater shops have moved to another facility in the Saginaw area. This lease was also lost, which resulted in selling all of the rail car fleet (both freight and passenger cars) with the exception of the Silver Lake Diner and the observation car.

Modern day

Bluewater operates occasional excursions and trips around Michigan. They also hold a monthly membership meeting in Royal Oak, Michigan.[5]

Fleet

Bluewater's fleet has diminished to just 2 cars, which are on long term lease to the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. - Silver Lake-diner - Round-end observation

References

  1. ↑ NRHS webpage on Bluewater at http://www.nrhs.com/chapters/bluewater_michigan.htm
  2. ↑ "Railroad Society". The Clinton Local. March 22, 1984.
  3. ↑ "Ft. Wayne Flyer Rides Again". The Clinton Local. June 21, 1984.
  4. ↑ Project 1225 Newsletter, Number 75, September 1989.
  5. ↑ http://www.bluewaternrhs.com/MemberServices.html

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, June 01, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.